The present invention is directed to a building panel and, more specifically, to an interlocking building panel which is adapted to connect with an adjacent panel of similar structure and which is particularly useful in overhead applications.
The use of interlocking building panels which are attached to a supporting frame work and assembled together to cover relatively large surface areas such as walls, roofs, awnings, and the like is well known in the building industry. Such panels are usually formed by rolling or press-braking flat aluminum or steel stock material. The particular alloys and thickness of the stock material are selected taking into consideration structural design features of the building panel and the application for which the building panel is intended. The building panels are usually formed with a riser or a flange at one edge or at two oppositely disposed edges of the building panel which serve to connect or lock the building panel to an adjacent building panel and also usually serve to secure the building panel to the supporting frame work. The main or central portion of the panel extending from the riser(s) at one or both ends of the panel together with the central portion of adjacent panels provide a surface facing over the area of the supporting frame work and it is this surface facing that remains visible after assembly and construction are completed.
Although the building panels are not usually utilized as load bearing structural components, the panels must have sufficient strength and rigidity to be self-supporting and resistant to normal contact over the central portion thereof. Various factors must be taken into consideration in developing a design and selecting materials for panels which may be used in different applications. For example, one might consider the design characteristics and selection of material to provide strength and rigidity in a building panel to provide a wall facing more important than in a building panel to provide a ceiling or roof facing since the wall facing may be subject to greater or more frequent impact than a ceiling or roofing facing which is remote from pedestrian and vehicle traffic. On the other hand, the central portion of a building panel used as a ceiling facing or roofing must be sufficiently rigid and have adequate strength to avoid sagging under its own weight and any additional load which may be applied by insulation, fire retardant and/or roofing coatings. The cost of a particular building panel system is of course a significant consideration in determining basic panel design and selecting the material to be used in forming the panel. To a certain extent the cost of the building system materials and assembly can be reduced through the use of larger rather than smaller building panels. However, as the size of a building panel increases it becomes necessary to use either a stronger alloy, thicker stock material or incorporate design features to enhance the strength and rigidity of the building panel. Building panels which are to be utilized as surface facing components in ceiling and/or roofing applications, particularly the central portion of such building panels, must be capable of retaining their shape and form over the length or width of whatever span of the supporting frame work the central portion of the building panel is intended to cover.
Reinforcing ribs or beads formed to extend longitudinally along a central portion of a building panel; such as the ribs or beads shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,555,758, 3,733,767, 4,109,437 and 4,155,206 have been proposed to increase the rigidity of the central portion of a building panel. Building panels having risers along each of two opposed edges of the panel with interlocking connecting members at the terminal ends of the risers have also been disclosed for various purposes in those patents as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,481,094, 3,968,603, 4,192,117, 4,223,503 and 4,369,609. These patents are representative of the many varied efforts to accommodate specific as well as more generalized problems in the design and use of building panels in the building industry and of course reflect that the design and use of interlocking building panels has become highly specialized.
The present invention provides an improved building panel design of the type which includes a riser at each of two opposed edges of a central portion of the panel with each riser providing a structure for interlocking the building panel to an adjacent panel of similar structure. The structure of the building panel of the present invention, particularly the structure providing the risers and the interlocking connecting means at each of the opposed edges of the building panel is unique and provides a building panel structure which is capable of being installed to provide a ceiling facing over a greater span than heretofore building panels utilized in such applications.